Farmer Cyrus Hall McCormick invented the mechanical reaper. This machine combined the many steps that pervious harvesting machines did separately. Born in Rock Bridge County, Virginia, he followed his father's love for inventing when he was young. When his father failed at producing his own mechanical reaper, he started where he left off. In July 1831, McCormick succeeded producing a model reaper with important components for future commercial machines. This invention proved to be very time consuming for farmers allowing them to double their crop size. A farmer and a helper could harvest twelve acres of crops within a single day using his machine. It also allowed future inventors to use his method to better the industry.